One-piece automotive trunk liner

ABSTRACT

A one-piece trunk liner for an automobile trunk compartment wherein the trunk liner is formed of fibrous material and molded to form a relatively stiff body having a center floor cover panel and a plurality of panels extending along the sides of the center floor panel and integrally connected thereto and extending upwardly and outwardly from the center floor cover panel so as to be in outwardly diverging relation to the center floor cover panel. The stiffness of the molded fibrous body and the outwardly diverging relationship of the plurality of panels permit the panels to resiliently engage inner wall surfaces of the trunk when the panels are biased inwardly toward an upright position when mounted in the trunk to thereby facilitate mounting the trunk liner in the trunk of an automobile and the maintaining of the trunk liner in the installed position in engagement with the walls of the trunk.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to trunk liners and more particularly to trunkliners for an automobile trunk compartment.

For many years, liners for the trunk compartment of automobiles havebeen of multi-piece construction with typically seven to eleven piecesbeing separately formed and fitted together and held by fasteners forlining the trunk compartment. In order to position and interconnect theseparate pieces to form an entity trunk liner, many of the pieces havebeen arranged in overlapping relationship. Needless to say, the separateforming of the many pieces and the fitting of the same together to formthe trunk liner has been an expensive, time consuming, and tediousprocedure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

With the foregoing in mind, it is the primary object of this inventionto provide a one-piece trunk liner which avoids the expensive and timeconsuming operation of separately forming individual pieces and thetedious operation of fitting and connecting together such separatedpieces.

The one-piece trunk liner of this invention presents many attendantadvantages over prior art practices. Of primary significance is thereduction of time in placing the trunk liner within the trunkcompartment of the automobile. Further, considerable reduction inmaterial has been realized, particularly the reduction in waste sinceonly one integral trunk liner has to be trimmed as opposed to aplurality of separate parts being trimmed and fitted together. Further,no longer is there any problem in the matching of dye lots of theseparate pieces which oftentimes come from different suppliers. Further,the grain direction of the textile fibers defining the upper pilesurface of the trunk liner of this invention is of uniform directionsince a single piece of fibrous material having uniform pile lie isutilized in forming the one-piece trunk liner. In prior art practices ofinterconnecting separate pieces together, the grain direction of thevarious pieces had to be kept in mind in order to present a uniformcolor appearance to the trunk liner to thereby obtain the desiredaesthetic appearance of the liner.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an integrally moldedfibrous trunk liner for an automobile trunk compartment wherein thetrunk liner is molded in such a manner that the side walls thereof areformed so as to extend upwardly and outwardly in a diverging mannerrelative to the center floor cover panel so as to resiliently engage theside walls of the trunk compartment when the side walls of the liner arebiased inwardly toward an upright position when installed and mounted ina trunk compartment. Not only does this resilient engagement of thetrunk liner with the walls of the trunk compartment facilitate themounting of the trunk liner in the trunk compartment but also themaintaining of the trunk liner in the installed position in engagementwith the walls of the trunk compartment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some of the objects and advantages of the present invention having beenstated, others will appear as the description proceeds, when consideredin conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of the trunk liner substantially as thesame appears when taken out of the mold;

FIG. 2 is another top perspective view similar to FIG. 1 but lookingfrom the opposite side of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along Line 3--3 of both FIGS.1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is another vertical sectional view taken along line Line 4--4 ofboth FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the molded trunk liner corresponding tothe sectional view of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is another schematic sectional view of the molded trunk liner andshowing the attitude of the trunk liner when installed in the trunk ofan automobile;

FIG. 7 is an exploded view of the completed trunk liner after the samehas been suitably trimmed following molding and after the insulator padshave been applied at predetermined areas along the back of the variouspanels and wherein the panelboard for the rigid lid for the spare tirecover has been connected thereto;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a stack of finished trunk liners shownnestingly arranged for facilitating shipment and handling thereof;

FIG. 9 illustrates the manner in which the rather bulky completed trunkliner may be suitably folded upon itself for facilitating installationin the trunk compartment of an automobile;

FIG. 10 is a top perspective view showing the trunk liner installedwithin the trunk compartment of an automobile;

FIG. 11 is another top perspective view showing the trunk linerinstalled in the trunk compartment of an automobile and wherein thespare tire well cover is shown pivoted to an open position;

FIG. 12 is a transverse sectional view through the trunk compartment ofan automobile taken substantially along Line 12--12 of FIG. 10, andwherein the cover for the spare tire well is shown in solid lines inclosed position and in dotted lines in open position;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the completed trunk liner as the samewould appear if removed intact from the compartment of an automobile;

FIG. 14 is an enlarged transverse sectional view of the spare tire covertaken substantially along Line 14--14 of FIG. 11;

FIG. 15 is an enlarged transverse sectional view taken within the dottedline area 15 of FIG. 12 and illustrating the manner in which theunderside of the rigid lid of the spare tire cover is provided withcushion material to prevent rattling as by contact with the metaldefining the opening of the spare tire well;

FIG. 16 is a top perspective view of a second form of the trunk linerinstalled in an automobile and which basically differs over the firstform by the addition of a rear seat panel extending upwardly fromforward portions of the trunk liner alongside the backrest of the backseat;

FIG. 17 is another top perspective view of the second form of theinvention removed from an automobile but wherein the spare tire cover isshown pivoted to an open position and the rear seat panel is also shownmoved away from the rear wheel housing cover panels for clarity;

FIG. 18 is another top perspective view of the second form of thecompleted trunk liner as the same would appear when removed intact fromthe trunk compartment of a vehicle;

FIG. 19 is a transverse sectional view of the spare tire cover takensubstantially along Line 19--19 of FIG. 17, but on an enlarged scale andillustrating the manner in which the trunk liner material is positionedaround the periphery and the underside of the rigid lid;

FIG. 20 is a fragmentary sectional view of the spare tire cover takensubstantially along Line 20--20 of FIG. 17, and illustrating the mannerin which the pull strap is secured to the spare tire cover forfacilitating pivoting the cover to an open position; and

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of a stack of finished trunk liners of thesecond form shown nested for facilitating handling and shipping thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring now specifically to the drawings and particularly to FIGS. 1to 15, illustrating the first embodiment of the invention, referencenumeral 10 designates the trunk liner as the same substantially appearswhen removed from the mold. This forms of the trunk liner as is bestillustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4 of the drawings. On the other hand,reference numeral 10' designates the completed trunk liner after thesame has been suitably trimmed following the molding thereof and afterthe same has had other components added thereto on the backside, such asinsulator pads and a rigid lid underlying a spare tire cover and servingas a cover for covering a spare tire well. This completed form of thefirst embodiment of the trunk liner is best illustrated in FIGS. 7 to 10and 13.

For purposes of simplicity, the various elements or features of thecompleted trunk liner will bear the same reference numerals as themolded but unfinished trunk liner, but with the prime notation addedthereto.

As best shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the trunk liner 10 shown as removed froma typical pressure molding operation utilizing mating male and femalemolding components, comprises a center floor cover panel 20 and aplurality of panels extending along the sides of said center floor paneland integrally connected thereto. These panels include a rear end panel30 having lower end portions connecting rearmost portions of said centerfloor panel 20 and divergingly extending upwardly and outwardlytherefrom. Right and left rear wheel housing cover panels 40a and 40b,respectively are connected to opposite sides of said center floor coverpanel 20 and divergingly extend upwardly and outwardly therefrom. Rightand left inner panels 50a and 50b respectively are also connected toopposite sides of said center floor cover panel 20 and are diverginglyarranged to extend upwardly and outwardly therefrom. These right andleft inner panels 50 and 50a are positioned rearwardly of the right andleft rear wheel housing cover panels 40a, 40b and are respectivelyconnected to rearmost portions of the right and left rear wheel housingcover panels 40a, 40b, respectively.

The molded trunk liner body 10 is formed of any suitable fibrousmaterial that may readily be subjected to molding. While many textilefibers may be used, polyester staple fibers that have been needlepunched or preneedled to form a non-woven fabric have been found to bequite suitable as well as economical to use. In the preferred embodimentshown herein, a moldable coating 11 is applied to the backside of thenon-woven fabric and dried prior to being molded. This coating serves toimpart shape retention and stiffness to the overall molded body upon themolding operation being completed. A relatively lightweight coating ofthermoplastic material of a wide variety may be used. However, coatingsof polyethylene or moldable latex have each been proven to be suitable,with latex offering the better shape retention. Conventional coatingequipment is readily used with either type of coating. The upper surfaceof the trunk liner is desirably formed of soft fibrous material,preferably in the form of pile fibers. The back of the body of the trunkliner is relatively hard and rigid to provide the molded memory andshape retention for the trunk liner. Alternatively, instead of acoating, the desired moldability, stiffness and shape retentionproperties can be imparted to the trunk liner by other means such as bythe composition of the fibrous material itself, as an example, throughthe use of a web containing heat activatable potentially adhesivefibers. One such product is disclosed in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No.4,568,581.

In order to facilitate the molding of the relatively deep fibrous bodyof the trunk liner, it will be noted that the center floor cover panel20 is provided with an upward bulge or crown thereto, as bestillustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. This bulge or crown serves severalpurposes. Of primary importance is to prevent the fibrous body frombeing ruptured when the female and male mold components are moved intomating molding position. In this respect, it will be appreciated thatthe depth of movement or draw of the fibrous material forming the trunkliner is considerably lessened with this upward bulge being provided inthe center floor cover panel 20. Also, as best illustrated in theschematic view of FIG. 5, it will be seen wherein the side panelsextending upwardly and outwardly from the center floor cover panel 20are essentially spread apart from each other to further reduce the depthof draw of the fibrous material molded into the trunk liner.

As earlier noted, all of the plurality of panels extending along thesides of the center floor cover panel 20 are arranged to extend upwardlyand outwardly therefrom so as to be in outwardly diverging relationthereto. FIG. 5 schematically illustrates this outwardly divergingrelationship by the angles identified as B between the center floorcover panel 20 and the side walls 40a,40b extending therefrom. Eachangle B is somewhat larger than 90°, and preferably is about 100° to120°. The opposite ends of arc A represent the imaginary position of thesidewall panels if in fact the same were molded at only right angles tothe center floor cover panel 20. Arc C is about 45° to 55° with arc Dbeing about 25° to 30°. Thus, the collective arc for angles B, C, and D,is 180°.

Referring now to FIG. 6 wherein the trunk liner is shown schematicallyin its attitude when installed in the trunk compartment of anautomobile, it will be noted that the sidewalls of 40a and 40b have beenbiased inwardly to the more erect position and extend at an angle ofsomewhat more than 90° to the center floor cover panel 20. The sidepanels by being biased inwardly toward an upright position when mountedin the trunk facilitate mounting the trunk liner in the trunk of theautomobile and the maintaining of the trunk liner in the installedposition in engagement with the walls of the trunk. It will further benoted that the center floor cover panel 20, when installed, is insubstantially flat condition. This flattening of the center floor coverpanel 20 naturally occurs when the panels extending along the sides ofthe center floor cover panel 20 are biased inwardly toward an uprightposition when installed in the trunk compartment of an automobile.Further, it will be noted by comparing the molded height H of the trunkliner in FIG. 5, with the installed height H', of FIG. 6, that aconsiderable increase in overall height of the trunk liner takes placewhen the trunk liner is installed as compared to the height of the trunkliner when removed from the mold. Further, it has been learned that thecrown in the center portion of the center floor cover panel 20 also aidsin providing a biasing action to the sides extending outwardly andupwardly from the center floor panel.

The center floor cover panel 20 has a medial portion thereof defining aspare tire cover indicated by reference numeral 60. The periphery of thespare tire cover 60 is defined in the molding operation by providingsuitable grooves 63 in the fibrous material. These grooves 63 as bestshown in FIGS. 1 and 2, appear as bulging portions on the rear of thespare tire cover as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. It will be noted thatthe grooves 63 take the form of two symmetrically arranged opposingarcuate groove segments, each extending from adjacent the rear end panel30 forwardly across about two-thirds of the center floor cover panel. Aswill be seen later, as the description proceeds, these grooves 63 willeach be cut in the valley thereof so as to free the sides of the sparetire cover from the remainder of the center floor cover panel 20.

Referring now particularly to FIGS. 7 and 8, reference numeral 10'designates the finished or completed trunk liner after the same has beensuitably trimmed following the molding thereof and after insulator pads70 have been added to predetermined areas of the backside thereof, aswell as the providing of a rigid lid 62 underlying the spare tire cover60 and for covering the spare tire well of the automobile. ComparingFIGS. 7 and 8 (wherein the prime notation has been added to molded linerelements) with FIGS. 1 and 2, it will be noted that gusset portions G inFIGS. 1 and 2, have been removed as by cutting along the dotted lines asindicated. The removal of these gussets G permits the rear end panel 30'to be moved substantially to the perpendicular position as wheninstallaed, as best shown in FIG. 13. Similarly, as also shown in FIG.13, the removal of the gussets G permit the right and left rear wheelhousing cover panels 40a',40b', and right and left inner panels 50a',and 50b', to also be moved to the substantially vertical position. Also,since right and left inner panels 50a' and 50b' are integrally connectedto the right and left rear wheel housing cover panels 40a',40b', theseinner panels 50a',50b' may also be moved to the substantially veritcalposition upon the removal or trimming of the gussets G from the moldedliner 10.

Referring now to the spare tire cover 60', as best shown in the explodedview of FIG. 7, the spare tire cover 60' is provided with a multi-piecerigid lid 62 on the backside thereof and which is suitably secured tothe cover as by a suitable adhesive such as a heat activatable hot meltadhesive. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the multipiece rigid lid 62 takesthe form of a relatively small forwardmost piece 62a and a considerablylarger rearwardmost piece 62b. As illustrated, these lid pieces 62a,62bare spaced apart from each other and have adjacent parallel edgeportions essentially defining a hinge line therebetween for the sparetire cover 60'.

Referring now to FIGS. 11 and 12, it will be seen that when the sparetire cover is hinged to the open position that the relatively smallforwardmost lid piece 62a of the rigid lid 62 remains intact while thelarger lid piece 62b is pivoted upwardly along the hinge line defined bythe adjacent parallel edge portions of the two lid pieces. The two lidpieces 62a,62b of the lid 62 may be formed of any suitable rigidmaterial such as panelboard, compressed board, or the like. Further, tofacilitate grasping and imparting pivotal movement to the spare tirecover 62, a pull strap 64 is suitably connected as by staples 65 to asubstantially central location along the rear periphery of the lid, asillustrated. This is best illustrated in FIGS. 11, 12, 13 and 15, of thedrawings.

To cushion the underside of the rigid lid 62 and to prevent rattling asby engagement of the lid with the underlying metal defining the openingof the spare tire well, a relatively narrow strip of cushion material 66is suitably secured as by adhesive, such as hot melt, to the undersideof the lid pieces 62a,62b of the lid 62. The cushion material 66 may bea fibrous non-woven needle punched material, and is relatively narrowand of about an inch in width to serve this cushioning and insulatingfunction to prevent rattling.

Referring again more particularly to the exploded view of FIG. 7, itwill be seen wherein a plurality of fibrous insulator pads 70 of variousthicknesses are secured to the backside of predetermined areas of theplurality of panels extending upwardly and outwardly from the centerfloor cover panel 60'. It will be noted that three rectangular shapedinsulator pads 70 are shown secured to the backside of the rear endpanel 30' and that relatively large quadrant shaped insulator pads 70are secured to the backside of the right and left rear wheel housingcover panels 40a',40b'. It will be noted that these latter insulatorpads have notches 70a cut inwardly from the periphery thereof so thatthe pads may readily be accommodated to the arcuate inner surfaces ofthe wheel housing cover panels. These insulator pads 70 may be securedto the molded trunk liner by any suitable adhesive, which may also be ofthe hot melt type of adhesive.

Referring again to the spare tire cover 60', and particularly FIG. 14,it will be noted that the grooves 63' which define the periphery of thespare tire cover are suitably cut, as illustrated, in the bottom of thevalley of the grooves. The depth of the grooves and the cutting in thevalley thereof aids in obscuring the presence of the cut line andimparts continuity to the exposed surface of the trunk liner byshielding the cut line from view.

Desirably for facilitating handling during shipment and installation,the rearmost portion of the spare tire cover 60' will not be entirelysevered so as to be entirely free from rear end panel 30' but will havea pair of spaced uncut portions therebetween which will be severed uponthe trunk liner being installed in the automobile. By having these smalluncut areas, free pivotal movement of the spare tire cover is avoidedwhich would interfere with the handling and installation of the trunkliner. In this regard, attention is directed to FIG. 9, wherein thetrunk liner 10' is shown in a condition of being folded upon itself asbeing installed in the trunk compartment of an automobile. Typically,opposite sides of the liner, as illustrated, are folded to overlie thespare tire cover to thus reduce the overall width of the trunk linerwhen being inserted in the opening of the trunk compartment. It shouldalso be appreciated that the rigid lid 62 for the spare tire well, whichunderlies the spare tire cover 60', also essentially serves as acarrying platform for the liner, opposite sides of which rigid lid 62may be gripped by the installer (as illustrated) for facilitating themovement of the trunk liner into the compartment of the trunk.

Referring to FIGS. 8 and 13, it will be noted that the rear end panel30' has a forwardly bulging portion 30a in the upper central portionthereof, and that a slot S is provided therethrough. This bulgingportion 30a' accommodates therebehind the latching mechanism for theautomobile trunk lid with the slot S serving to permit protrusiontherethrough of the loop portion L of the lock, as best illustrated inFIGS. 11 and 12.

For prelocating in the trunk liner, the desired position for a pair ofmetal fasteners or screws for aiding in mechanically securing the rearend panel 30' to the adjacent wall of the trunk compartment,indentations 30b' are molded in the rear end panel 30', each of theindentations 30b' being positioned about half way between the trunklatch and the opposite ends of the rear end panel 30.

Referring now to the second embodiment of the invention as illustratedin FIGS. 16 to 21, the same reference numerals will be employed as inthe first embodiment but of the hundred series, i.e. the numerals willbe numbered a hundred higher. This second form of the inventionbasically differs over the first form in two respects, one being theinclusion of a rear seat panel 180 which has lower end portionsconnected to forwardmost portions of the center floor cover panel 120'and extends upwardly and outwardly from the center floor panel in adiverging relationship as best illustrated in FIG. 21, where thecompleted trunk liner is shown ready for shipment. Secondly, this formof the invention avoids the need of separate strip cushion material 66for insulating the underside of the rigid lid 162 for the spare tirecover well. In this form of the invention, the grooves 163' formed alongthe periphery of the spare tire cover 160' are considerably deeper so asto provide sufficient liner material in the groove so as to be turned orfolded underneath the peripheral edge portions of the rigid lid 162.This feature of the invention is best illustrated in FIGS. 19 and 20,wherein it will be seen that portions of the spare tire cover materialextend underneath the lid 162 adjacent the periphery. Suitable meanssuch as staples 190 or hot melt adhesive may be provided for securingthe turned under liner material in position on the underside of the lid162.

This form of the invention has two pairs of gussets G (not shown) thathave been removed in order to permit the side walls 140a', 140b', 150a',150b', 130; and 180 extending upwardly and outwardly from the centerfloor cover panel 120 to be moved to the substantially vertical positionwhen installed in the trunk compartment of an automobile. Thispositioning of these side panels in the vertical position as they wouldappear in the trunk compartment of an automobile, is best illustrated inFIG. 18 when comparing the same to the completed trunk liners asnestingly shown in FIG. 21.

As in the first form of the invention, it is desirable to leave spacedareas of the spare tire cover 160' uncut along the lower edge of therear end panel 130' for facilitating the handling of the trunk linerwhen shipping and installing the same.

It will thus be seen that both forms of the invention present aone-piece trunk liner having an integral molded, relatively stifffibrous body having a center floor cover panel and a plurality of panelsextending along the sides of center floor cover panel and integrallyconnected thereto and wherein the panels extend upwardly and outwardlyfrom the center floor cover panel so as to be in outwardly divergingrelation to the center floor cover panel. The stiffness and shaperetention of the molded fibrous body and the outwardly divergingrelationship of the plurality of panels cause the panels to resilientlyengage and hug the inner wall surfaces of the trunk compartment when thepanels are biased inwardly toward an upright position when mounted inthe trunk. This diverging relationship of the side panels facilitatesthe mounting of the trunk liner in the trunk of the automobile andfurther serves to maintain the trunk liner in the installed position inengagement with the walls of the trunk. Further, no longer does thetrunk liner take the form of a pieced together jigsaw of a plurality ofpieces as in the past, but instead presents an integrally molded trunkliner aesthetically pleasing in appearance and easy to install.

That which is claimed is:
 1. A one-piece trunk liner for an automobiletrunk compartment, said trunk liner comprising an integral moldedrelatively stiff fibrous body having a center floor cover panel, and aplurality of panels extending along the sides of said center floor coverpanel and integrally connected thereto, said plurality of panelsextending upwardly and outwardly from said center floor cover panel soas to be in outwardly diverging relation to said center floor coverpanel, said stiffness of said molded fibrous body and the outwardlydiverging relationship of said plurality of panels causing said panelsto .[.resiliently engage.]. .Iadd.be resiliently biased into closeproximity to .Iaddend.inner wall surfaces of the trunk when the panelsare .[.biased inwardly.]. .Iadd.moved .Iaddend.toward an uprightposition when mounted in the trunk to thereby facilitate mounting thetrunk liner in the trunk of the automobile and maintaining the trunkliner in the installed position in .[.engagement with.]. .Iadd.saidclose proximity to .Iaddend.the walls of the trunk.
 2. A one-piece trunkliner for an automobile trunk compartment, said trunk liner comprising arelatively thin shell-like integral molded and relatively stiff fibrousbody formed of textile fibers, said body having a relatively softfibrous upper surface and including a center floor cover panel, and aplurality of panels extending along the sides of said center floor coverpanel and integrally connected thereto, said plurality of panelsextending upwardly and outwardly from said center floor cover panel soas to be in outwardly diverging relation to said center floor coverpanel, said stiffness of said molded fibrous body and the outwardlydiverging relationship of said plurality of panels causing said panelsto .[.resiliently engage.]. .Iadd.be resiliently biased into closeproximity to .Iaddend.inner wall surfaces of the trunk when the panelsare .[.biased inwardly.]. .Iadd.moved .Iaddend.toward an uprightposition when mounted in the trunk to thereby facilitate mounting thetrunk liner in the trunk of the automobile and maintaining the trunkliner in the installed position in .[.engagement with.]. .Iadd.saidclose proximity to .Iaddend. the the walls of the trunk.
 3. A one-piecetrunk liner for an automobile trunk compartment, said trunk linercomprising an integral molded relatively stiff fibrous body having acenter floor cover panel, and a plurality of panels extending along thesides of said center floor cover panel and integrally connected thereto,said plurality of panels comprising a rear end panel having lower endportions connecting rearmost portions of said center floor cover paneland divergingly extending upwardly and outwardly therefrom, right andleft rear wheel housing cover panels respectively connected to oppositesides of said floor cover panel and divergingly extending upwardly andoutwardly therefrom, and right and left inner panels respectivelyconnected to opposite sides of said center floor cover panel anddivergingly extending upwardly and outwardly therefrom, said right andleft inner panels being rearwardly of said right and left rear wheelhousing cover panels and respectively connected to rearmost portions ofsaid right and left rear wheel housing cover panels, said stiffness ofsaid molded fibrous body and the outwardly diverging relationship ofsaid plurality of panels causing said panels to .[.resiliently engage.]..Iadd.be resiliently biased into close proximity to .Iaddend.inner wallsurfaces of the trunk when the panels are .[.biased inwardly.]..Iadd.moved .Iaddend.toward an upright position when mounted in thetrunk to thereby facilitate mounting the trunk liner in the trunk of theautomobile and maintaining the trunk liner in the installed position in.[.engagement with.]. .Iadd.said close proximity to .Iaddend.the wallsof the trunk.
 4. A trunk liner according to claims 1, 2 or 3 including athermoplastic coating on the backside of said fibrous body impartinghardness to the backside and overall stiffness and shape retention tothe fibrous body.
 5. A trunk liner according to claims 1, 2 or 3 whereina spare tire cover is provided in medial portions of said center floorcover panel, said spare tire cover being in the form of a flap hingedlyconnected along a forwardmost side to said center floor cover panel. 6.A trunk liner according to claims 1, 2 or 3 wherein a spare tire coveris provided in medial portions of said center floor cover panel, saidspare tire cover being in the form of a flap hingedly connected along aforwardmost side to said center floor cover panel, a rigid lid carriedby said spare tire cover on the backside thereof and adapted to overlieand cover a spare tire well in the trunk of a car, said spare tire coverhaving flap edge portions overlying and covering the periphery of saidrigid lid to prevent an aesthetically pleasing appearance thereto andserving to shield the juncture of the spare tire cover with adjacentareas of the center cover panel.
 7. A trunk liner according to claim 6wherein said flap edge portions of said spare tire cover extendunderneath said rigid lid adjacent the periphery of said lid and servefor preventing contact of said lid with underlying metal typicallyforming the opening of the spare tire well.
 8. A trunk liner accordingto claim 6 including a relatively narrow strip of cushioning materialconnected to the underside of said lid of said spare tire cover adjacentthe periphery of the lid for eliminating contact of the lid withunderlying metal typically forming the opening of the spare tire well.9. A trunk liner according to claim 6 wherein said rigid lid forcovering a spare tire well is of multipiece construction and includes arelatively small forwardmost piece and a considerably large rearmostpiece, said lid pieces being spaced apart from each other and havingadjacent parallel edge portions essentially defining a hinge linetherebetween for the spare tire cover.
 10. A trunk liner according toclaims 1, 2, or 3 wherein said plurality of panels diverge outwardlyfrom said center floor cover panel at angles within the range of about100° to about 120°.
 11. A trunk liner according to claims 1, 2, or 3wherein said center floor cover panel is crowned to provide an upwardbulge thereto for facilitating molding thereof.
 12. A trunk lineraccording to claims 1, 2 or 3, including insulator pads secured to thebackside of predetermined areas of said plurality of panels foracoustical and thermal insulation.
 13. A trunk liner according to claim1, 2 or 3, including fibrous insulator pads of various thicknessessecured to the backside of predetermined areas of said plurality ofpanels for acoustical and thermal insulation.
 14. A trunk lineraccording to claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein said trunk liner is of a relativelythin shell-like construction and wherein said shell-like constructionand said outwardly diverging relation of said plurality of panelsextending along the sides of said center floor cover panel impartnestability to the trunk liner to permit a plurality of the trunk linersto be compactly nested with each other to form a nested stack of trunkliners to thereby facilitate the handling and shipping of trunk liners.15. A trunk liner according to claim 3 including a rear seat panelhaving lower end portions connecting forwardmost portions of said centerfloor cover panel and extending upwardly and outwardly from said centerfloor panel in a diverging relationship.
 16. The combination with anautomobile trunk compartment of a one-piece trunk liner, said trunkliner comprising an integral molded relatively stiff fibrous body havinga center floor cover panel, and a plurality of panels extending alongthe sides of said center floor cover panel and integrally connectedthereto, said plurality of panels being molded to extend upwardly andoutwardly from said center floor cover panel so as to be in outwardlydiverging relation to said center floor cover panel when uninstalled,said stiffness of said molded fibrous body and the outwardly divergingrelationship of said plurality of panels causing said panels to.[.resiliently engage.]. .Iadd.be resiliently biased into closeproximity to .Iaddend.the inner wall surfaces of the trunk to facilitatemaintaining the trunk liner in .[.engagement with.]. .Iadd.said closeproximity to .Iaddend.the walls of the trunk.
 17. The combination withan automobile trunk compartment of a one-piece trunk liner, said trunkliner comprising a relatively thin shell-like integral molded andrelatively stiff fibrous body formed of textile fibers, said body havinga relatively soft fibrous upper surface and including a center floorcover panel, and a plurality of panels extending along the sides of saidcenter floor cover panel and integrally connected thereto, saidplurality of panels extending upwardly and outwardly from said centerfloor cover panel so as to be in outwardly diverging relation to saidcenter floor cover panel when uninstalled, said stiffness of said moldedfibrous body and the outwardly diverging relationship of said pluralityof panels causing said panels to .[.resiliently engage.]. .Iadd.beresiliently biased into close proximity to .Iaddend.inner wall surfacesof the trunk to facilitate maintaining the trunk liner in .[.engagementwith.]. .Iadd.said close proximity to .Iaddend.the walls of the trunk.18. The combination with an automobile trunk compartment of a one-piecetrunk liner, said trunk liner comprising an integral molded relativelystiff fibrous body having a center floor cover panel, and a plurality ofpanels extending along the sides of said center floor cover panel andintegrally connected thereto, said plurality of panels comprising a rearend panel having lower end portions connecting rearmost portions of saidcenter floor cover panel and divergingly extending upwardly andoutwardly therefrom, right and left rear wheel housing cover panelsrespectively connected to opposite sides of said floor cover panel anddivergingly extending upwardly and outwardly therefrom, and right andleft inner panels respectively connected to opposite sides of saidcenter floor cover panel and divergingly extending upwardly andoutwardly therefrom, said right and left inner panels being rearwardlyof said right and left rear wheel housing cover panels and respectivelyconnected to rearmost portions of said right and left rear wheel housingcover panels, said stiffness of said molded fibrous body and theoutwardly diverging relationship of said plurality of panels causingsaid panels to .[.resiliently engage.]. .Iadd.be resiliently biased intoclose proximity to .Iaddend.inner wall surfaces of the trunk tofacilitate maintaining the trunk liner in .[.engagement with.]..Iadd.said close proximity to .Iaddend.the walls of the trunk.
 19. Thecombination with an automobile trunk compartment of a one-piece trunkliner according to claims 16, 17, or 18, including a thermoplasticcoating on the backside of said fibrous body of said trunk linerimparting hardness to the backside and overall stiffness to the fibrousbody.
 20. The combination with an automobile trunk compartment of aone-piece trunk liner according to claims 16, 17, or 18, wherein a sparetire cover is provided in medial portions of said center floor coverpanel of said trunk liner, said spare tire cover being in the form of aflap hingedly connected along a forwardmost side to said center floorcover.
 21. The combination with an automobile trunk compartment of aone-piece trunk liner according to claims 16, 17, or 18, wherein a sparetire cover is provided in medial portions of said center floor coverpanel of said trunk liner, said spare tire cover being in the form of aflap hingedly connected along a forwardmost side to said center floorcover, a rigid lid carried by said spare tire cover on the backsidethereof and adapted to overlie and cover a spare tire well in the trunkof a car, said spare tire cover having flap edge portions overlying andcovering the periphery of said rigid lid to present an aestheticallypleasing appearance thereto and serving to shield the juncture of thespare tire cover with adjacent areas of the center cover panel.
 22. Thecombination with an automobile trunk compartment of a one-piece trunkliner according to claims 16, 17, or 18, wherein said flap edge portionsof said spare tire cover extend underneath said rigid lid adjacent theperiphery of said lid and serve for preventing contact of said lid withunderlying metal typically forming the opening of the spare tire well.23. The combination with an automobile trunk compartment of a one-piecetrunk liner according to claims 16, 17, or 18, including a relativelynarrow strip of cushioning material connected to the underside of saidlid of said spare tire cover adjacent the periphery of the lid foreliminating contact of the lid with underlying metal typically formingthe opening of the spare tire well.
 24. The combination with anautomobile trunk compartment of a one-piece trunk liner according toclaims 16, 17, or 18, including insulator pads secured to the backsideof predetermined areas of said plurality of trunk liner panels foracoustical and thermal insulation.
 25. The combination with anautomobile trunk compartment of a one-piece trunk liner according toclaims 16, 17, or 18, including fibrous insulator pads of variousthicknesses secured to the backside of predetermined areas of saidplurality of trunk liner panels for acoustical and thermal insulation..Iadd.26. A trunk liner according to claims 1, 2 or 3, wherein saidplurality of panels resiliently engage said inner wall surfaces of thetrunk when the panels are moved toward an upright position when mountedin the trunk. .Iaddend. .Iadd.27. The combination with an automobiletrunk compartment of a one-piece trunk liner according to claims 16, 17or 18, wherein said plurality of panels resiliently engage said innerwall surfaces of the trunk when the panels are moved toward an uprightposition when mounted in the trunk. .Iaddend.